


I See Fire

by MsLane



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cute, F/F, Fluff, Prompt Fill, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-05 15:19:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4184772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsLane/pseuds/MsLane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has to be the right moment, and no way is being all sweaty and gross after running around for nearly two hours part of a recipe for the right moment.<br/>Chloe watches forlornly as Beca all but flies out of the gym, a confused and hurt puppy dog look on her face, not at all liking or understanding why Beca is suddenly being so aloof.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thinking Out Loud

**Author's Note:**

> prompt being: "Beca gives Chloe a gift...can have her as confident or awkward as you want."

Chloe smiles at Beca easily, as per usual, but the reaction she gets in return is weird, even by Beca's standards.

Instead of a smile, Chloe gets a very flustered Beca ducking and turning her face away from her, her ears going red in her flustered state.

Chloe furrows her brow, confused beyond belief as to the reason behind Beca's actions, but decides perhaps talking about it later would be best since they're about to start practice.

"Alright aca-gals, listen up! We've got a full workout planned today, so I hope you're prepped to stretch it all out before we run through our scales!"

Aubrey, who can't help her need for bossing people around, loves that she still gets to come by to help keep the Bellas in shape. Graduate or not, being a Bella is for life, and she meant it when she said she'd help in any way she can.

Chloe gives her a friendly kiss on her cheek in greeting before skipping off to the front of the lines to lead them through warm ups.

Beca rolls her eyes at her own ridiculous actions earlier, as she bends at the waist and touches her toes, and thinks to herself, 'stop being such a total spaz.'

"Great! Now that you're sufficiently warmed up, let's get going with some cardio! Let's go ladies, lap around the gymnasium, then we'll segue into some knee highs and then lunges! Isn't this exciting?! Look at you girls go!"

Beca snorts, highly amused by the amount of enthusiasm seeping out of Aubrey.

If she's being honest, it's a little disconcerting just how preppy she's being. Beca's only really used to this amount of enthusiasm from a particular redhead; anyone else just garners a very confused look from her.

An hour and a half later has most of the Bellas ready to jump ship; thankfully Chloe gives Aubrey a pointed look that has the blonde nodding in understanding and swiftly saying, "Ladies, you did wonderful today. Okay, so let's cool down now. So let's take a nice slow paced jog around the gym...Atta girls- nice and steady, let's slowly lower your heart rates...Now let's slow down some more and walk around the gym. This was a great workout, I'm _so_ proud of you!." Aubrey smiles delightedly at all of the girls, walking back towards her bag, "I'll see you all this weekend for the BBQ."

She walks out waving at a very flushed looking Chloe, who still manages a large and genuine smile in return, "Bye Bree!"

The rest of the Bellas all sort of just slump down to the ground where they stand, and let out various groans of protest and fatigue.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm seriously reconsidering taking up horizontal running." Fat Amy says from her propped up position against the bleachers.

Beca laughs breathily as she pushes herself up off the chair she managed to sit in, and walks over to her own things, "I don't know Amy. Aubrey might find a way to turn that into an actual workout."

She catches Chloe's amused eyes and nearly stumbles over her own two feet. It's not her fault that she can barely control herself; Chloe needs to get better control over her Disney princess eyes.

Chloe furrows her brow once again when she sees Beca fumble and then quickly shuffles _away_ from her, rather than go up to her to properly greet her. It's confusing and it hurts in a way Chloe can't really describe.

Beca should feel bad about things but, in all honesty, she isn't aware that she's kind of hurting Chloe's feelings by doing the things she's doing. Beca's more concerned with keeping her mouth shut about the gift she really wants to give to Chloe.

It has to be the right moment, and no way is being all sweaty and gross after running around for nearly two hours part of a recipe for the right moment.

Chloe watches forlornly as Beca all but flies out of the gym, a confused and hurt puppy dog look on her face, not at all liking or understanding why Beca is suddenly being so aloof.

xo

"Look just stop okay? I just had to leave, I can't help that I panicked." Beca says firmly as she throws herself backwards onto her bed.

Jesse rolls his eyes from his place at her desk, "Yeah but you could have been smoother with it."

Beca huffs, "Whatever, I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Jesse just rolls his eyes again, exasperated with the whole ordeal, "Why don't you just talk to me like normal people do? Use your big girl words Beca."

At this, Beca sits up and fixes him with a glare, "I didn't ask for your help. Hell, I didn't even tell you about any of this to begin with. You pried and found out. Forgive me if I'm not really big on the talking thing."

"You're still mad 'bout that? Beca I told you I thought it was for me! And I didn't think you'd mind."

Shrugging, Beca shifts so she's resting her back against the wall, pulling up her knees to her chest, "Whatever Jesse, the point is, I didn't plan on anyone knowing about any of it. You found out. that doesn't automatically make you my confidante...so you can stop coming around and asking and trying to get things out of me and then poke and prod and try and deconstruct the situation all the while telling me what and how I should have handled things."

Jesse nods, head down, "I just assumed..." he trails off and Beca really wants to interject and say something along the lines of 'as you always do' but she's growing up apparently, and realizing she doesn't need to say everything that comes to mind.

"You're right though...so I'm going to go and leave you to...do whatever it is you get up to in your free time. I'll see you around." Jesse slowly gets up and _slowly_ gathers his belongings, and moves towards the door at an even slower pace, causing Beca to roll her eyes.

She knows he's hoping she'll change her mind about letting him leave.

"Jesse." She calls out.

His head lifts and his mood visibly brightens as he already starts to put down his DVD cases, thinking for sure she's about to tell him to stay. She holds his gaze and she says, "Close the door on your way out."

She shuts her eyes as she hears him huff and walk out of her room, slamming the door behind him.

She doesn't hate Jesse. He just doesn't get it.

Beca doesn't take too kindly to having her privacy invaded. She hates the feeling of not having control over certain aspects of her life. Like when and if she wants to let someone in on her thoughts and feelings. She dislikes it very much when people assume things and then get bent out of shape when she tells them otherwise.

When Beca had walked into the station a week ago to see Jesse excitedly waving around a USB stick, she didn't think anything of it, until she recognized the USB.

It was the special one. It was _hers_.

And it, in no way, was meant to be seen by Jesse.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

Jesse immediately stopped his rather excited and uncalled for dancing, to give her a large grin, "I found it over there by your stack of CDs, I figured you wanted to limit the awkward interactions by leaving it out for me to find. I haven't listened to any of the songs yet, but the track list makes me very-"

She cuts him off by storming up to him and grabbing the little piece of plastic out of his hands, "This isn't for you." She's kind of growling, and really she's just glad she isn't yelling, even though she really wants to.

Jesse grins at her teasingly, "Right, of course. Sorry if I ruined your plans on the big reveal then…you can hand it back to me now."

She backs off, her anger and frustration building, "No, Jesse. I'm serious. This _isn't_ for you." She reiterates, pausing before continuing, "You weren't even supposed to find out about this. It's personal."

Jesse's brow furrows in confusion, "But…you left it right there, where I could find it…"

Beca doesn't know how she's not yelling right now even though she really feels like she should be, but she's glad she's managing to keep her cool.

"That's my workstation. I work there. Sometimes I leave stuff there. I do plan on coming back after coffee runs, you know? Like any person who works? I'm pretty sure my headphones are still right where I left them, right?" Her tone is icy, and there's no hint of it being a joke to her.

Jesse nods his head slowly, "Yeah of course your headphones are still at your station. I wouldn’t touch those, I don’t have a death wish."

Beca nods slowly, pocketing the USB and folding her arms across her chest, "Right. So why would you assume it's okay to pick up something else that is obviously not yours and go about thinking it's for you?"

Jesse shrugs his shoulders, "Who else would it be for? It's obviously not filled with mixes for Luke to play on the radio, otherwise you'd have left it in your designated in-tray."

Beca lets out a frustrated groan, "Dude, there _are_ other people in my life that don’t work here with me."

It's then that Jesse seems to register that Beca is being very serious about the USB not being for him.

"Oh…you mean. You really did mean it wasn't for me." He looks stricken, but Beca can't feel bad. He should be thanking his lucky stars she didn't start yelling because she really wants to still.

"If it was supposed to be for you, don’t you think I'd have done a better job at keeping it from you until I wanted to give it to you?" Beca asks seriously, her tone still kind of biting, and arms still folded.

Jesse nods slightly, eyes downcast before lifting them up to meet Beca's, "Probably, but I just…I was pretty excited thinking you made this for me. It's-it looks pretty sweet."

Beca scowls as she unfolds her arms finally and walks away, back to her station and starts stacking more CDs, making sure to grab her coffee cup on her way.

She isn't going to have this conversation with Jesse.

"Who is it for then, if not for me?" Jesse asks a little while later, having made his way back over.

Beca glares at him, "You seriously have to take about a thousand steps back away from my personal life right now. I didn't let you in. You didn’t give me the opportunity to even open up to you. You don’t get to demand I tell you now."

"Just…I know okay? It was a dick move on my part, and I'm sorry that I picked it up and thought it was for me. Can you please just let me know who _is_ going to be getting it?"

She huffs but says nothing.

"Okay well…can I guess? I think I could probably guess." Jesse says rather cockily.

Beca shrugs, "You can do whatever the hell you want to do Jesse. I'm still pretty pissed right now."

Jesse nods, "Yes, yes…You probably should be, but that's fine, you'll forgive me at some point, I'm that loveable."

Beca's face remains stoic, not at all amused and Jesse quickly continues, "So okay…is it for that guy in your history class? The really tall one with the great hair, George."

Beca ignores him as he continues to list an alarmingly large number of guys she isn't even aware exist, let alone know their names.

He gets antsy nearing the hour mark and frustratingly says, "What the hell Beca, it's like it isn't even for a guy!"

She snorts and continues to ignore him in favor of actually working, but apparently that gives him a clue.

His eyes widen and his jaw drops a little, "Wait…it isn't for a guy? Beca…this is like pretty heavy on the love songs."

He says it slowly, like he's breaking the news to a child and really can he be any more insulting? Beca raises an eyebrow and finally says as calmly as she can, "Yes Jesse. I'm actually very aware of the contents of _my_ USB."

He shakes his head, "Yeah, but like…do you know what someone can think after receiving this as a gift? Like, it's basically a mix-tape."

"Yeah…that's the point." She says bluntly, before turning back to her job, getting sick of the conversation already.

"…Are you…you _want_ whoever it's for, to get the wrong idea? Why would you-"

"Oh my God, Jesse! No! I don’t want them getting the wrong idea, I want them to get the _idea_ because the _idea_ would be the _right one_. I'm trying to tell them what I can't say properly on my own. Now, can you shut up and just leave me the hell alone about this? You've got work to do Swanson."

 

 

 

 


	2. You Are The Best Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is from the song with the same name by Ray LaMontagne

_"Oh my God, Jesse! No! I don’t want them getting the wrong idea, I want them to get the_ idea _because the_ idea _would be the_ rightone _. I'm trying to tell them what I can't say properly on my own. Now, can you shut up and just leave me the hell alone about this? You've got work to do Swanson."_

Jesse manages not to say anything for a while and Beca initially thinks that he's finally gotten the hint.

"It's for Chloe…isn't it?"

And Beca really wasn't expecting that, nor was she expecting it in the tone it was delivered with.

It was partially hurt, and partially confident, like he couldn't believe that he didn't think of it before.

But Beca doesn't want to say anything, because she's still really mad at him for taking something that obviously wasn't his, and then have the gall to continue trying to get information out of her.

"You should really maybe spruce up the packaging…it's a lil' rough if you ask me." Jesse says, not really minding the lack of words being sent his way.

Beca drops the clipboard she had picked up and clenches her hands into fists, "Good thing I didn't ask you. I'm being very serious right now Jesse. I need you to shut up, and leave me alone. I need to cool down, because I'm really mad right and I'm trying _really_ hard not to blow up at you; you're not making that easy for me."

Jesse scoffs a little at that, but thankfully decides to step away from Beca and back off.

But not before saying, "Just consider the packaging."

Xoxoxo

Beca groans just remembering how much she wanted to throttle him that day, not too long ago.

'And here he is, once again, making me want to kill him,' she thinks to herself, falling over sideways on her bed, face-planting into her pillows.

"Can this get any-"

She's interrupted by her phone chiming, alerting her to a new text message.

Beca bites her lip, already feeling like she knows who it's from.

' ** _Hey Becs…is everything ok? U kinda seemed a lil off earlier, I just wanted to make sure. Lemme know, ok? xx'_**

The butterflies that erupt in her stomach are certainly not new to her in any way. In fact, she's gotten so used to them fluttering around inside of her whenever she talks or even thinks about Chloe, that they're officially known as her Chloe Butterflies.

She lets out a frustrated groan, because what's she gonna do now?

Technically, everything is okay, so she can't tell Chloe something is wrong when there isn't…And she can't let her know there's nothing wrong, or else she'll wonder what was up with her earlier.

She sends back, ' ** _Yea Chlo, I'm fine…just had loads to do. Don’t worry bout me tho, im pretty resilient ;) x'_**

She blames the constant texting with Chloe for her new penchant for smilies and hugs and kisses at the end of her texts.

And she isn't technically lying to Chloe now either by telling her she's got lots to do. Beca glances at her work table to see the stack of worksheets she's yet to complete fully.

Sighing to herself, she groans again for good measure before tossing herself out of bed and slumping into her chair to start working on her homework. She really does hate lying, so might as well make herself honest by actually doing the work.

Her phone chimes and she can't help but chuckle at the picture she receives from Chloe as a way of reply. She's semi pouting, but her eyes are smiling, and Beca wants to smack herself in the head because God she sounds like such a sap.

' ** _Good luck with that! I'm cheering for you! I'll be here when you're done xoxo'_**

Beca bites her lip as she eyes the hugs and kisses at the end of Chloe's text, wondering, not for the first time, if Chloe uses them as excessively with the others as she does with her.

She sets aside the phone and gets to work.

Xoxoxo

Chloe sighs as she slides her phone back into her pocket, knowing Beca was not likely to reply until she's done with her work.

She picks up her own reading and starts putting a dent into it, not too worried about her workload, seeing as she's got a decent system that has yet to fail her.

"So did you find out what was up with Beca?" Aubrey asks as she breezes through the living-room towards the kitchen to grab her smoothie, glancing over her shoulder at Chloe as she waits for an answer.

Even though Aubrey has a really nice place, compliments from her parents who left her the house when they moved to Vermont, she manages to spend most of her time with Chloe in the apartment they had gotten together when they both started Barden.

Chloe understands completely why it is that Aubrey likes it here with her more than her house, and she can't blame Aubrey. If she was in her shoes, she'd probably be spending most of her time where there's someone she's close to around, rather than in a house that's, for all intents and purposes, just a building.

Although, Aubrey has been dropping hints to Chloe about her just moving in with her there, instead of continuing to pay rent on this apartment, when she could be living with her.

Chloe nods, not looking up from her book as she answers, "Yeah, she said she just has lots to do. Which, knowing Beca, is _so_ an understatement."

Aubrey smiles at her knowingly, "Do you feel better now?"

Chloe looks up from her book and finds Aubrey's eyes, a small bashful smile on her face as she nods, "A lot better yeah. I didn't like thinking she was avoiding me because of _me_ , you know? Especially since I haven't done anything."

Aubrey walks over and takes a seat beside the redhead and pats her thigh lovingly, "I know Bug, but now you don’t have to worry about it. See what good communication does?"

Chloe chuckles but nods before snuggling up against Aubrey, leaning her head against her shoulder and flipping open her book again, "Yes Bree, I see." She waits a beat and then adds sincerely, "Thank you."

For her part, Aubrey just shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly and drops a kiss to her forehead, "Yeah, yeah. Just stop getting into your own head hon. It's really not doing you any favors. All you do is wind yourself up and…you just really need to stop doing that. If not for your own sanity, then for mine. I really can't stand you feeling blue."

Chloe smiles to herself and squeezes Aubrey's arm to show her she heard her and appreciates the sentiment, and continues reading, letting Aubrey have her moment catching up on MasterChef.

Xoxoxo

It's hours later when Beca finally makes sure she's completed all the tasks on her homework assignments, and she's just glad it's over and done with.

Although now her stomach is protesting her lack of nutritious input.

She twirls her phone around in her hands absentmindedly for a while, seesawing between texting Chloe to meet up to get something to eat and forgoing it completely and just grabbing something for herself.

Staring at the phone that's now in her lap she huffs and picks it up as she stands and grabs her wallet and keys before walking out of the room.

She checks her pocket for the USB and nods to herself when she feels it right where she left it. Who knows when the perfect moment will show up?

Beca manages to make it to Chloe's relatively quickly, even for her, and she's kind of surprised at herself. She shakes her head at her fast paced walk over, and wonders briefly what Aubrey would say if she were to know just how quickly she can move when particularly motivated to do so.

Beca knocks and when the door opens she's greeted with, "Aubrey, hey…Don't tell me. She's fallen asleep."

The blonde smirks at her, moving out of the way to allow Beca to walk in, "She's napping yeah. All the excitement in her book must have worn her out."

Beca can't help the adoring smile that shows up on her face when she takes in the adorable sight of a curled up redhead, her feet tucked underneath her, hands curled under her chin and her eyelashes just brushing the top of her cheeks.

The light sound of a click draws Beca's attention as she turns to her left and sees Aubrey holding out her phone, and then nodding, apparently very stratified with her work, and saying, "You looked like you'd like a picture of her. You should have it now."

Aubrey gives her a knowing smile before carefully walking away to grab her purse, "I'm going to head out, I probably should make sure I've got the house ready for our BBQ. You're definitely coming right?" The question is paired with a raised eyebrow and the beginnings of her signature pursed lips.

Beca quickly answers quietly, "Yeah, yes of course I'm coming. You kidding? A BBQ is just what the doctor ordered. We need a little wind down."

Aubrey's face returns to smirking as she nods, happy with the answer, "I'll be going now. See you two later. Make sure she eats."

Beca nods, but she's not too sure if the blonde saw or noticed, Beca's eyes are once again on Chloe's napping self.

How is it that one person can look so absolute adorable is what Beca wants to know.

She's certain of one thing though.

Beca's sure that if anyone was around to see, they'd notice that she has the most ridiculously love struck smile on her face anyone on the face of the planet has ever seen.

Letting out a breathless sigh, Beca shuffles over towards the lightly sleeping redhead and gently brushes her hair away from her face, gently calling out, "Chloe…Come on bud, I think it's time you wake up from your nap now."

Beca watches with a smile on her face as Chloe's eyes flutter open, an adorable nose crinkle adorning her face as she focuses on the girl, "Beca? What're you doing here?"

Beca straightens up and takes a seat beside Chloe, once she too rights herself up, and shrugs her shoulders as she answers, "I finished all that work I told you I had…and I thought maybe you'd like to join me in getting something to eat?"

Her stomach decides it's the right moment to growl then and it causes Chloe to giggle lightly, her eyes bright as she nods, "I'd love to grab something to eat with you."

Beca's heart summersaults in her chest as she smiles back at Chloe, "Great! Anything in particular?"

Chloe shakes her head silently, causing her curls to bounce around wantonly, eyes mischievous and playful, "Nope, you've got to pick; I've chosen for us the last fifty million and one times."

"Yeah…that's not hyperbolic at all." Beca says while rolling her eyes, getting a nudge to her shoulder as Chloe gets up to freshen up.

"Oh whatever Becs, you know it's true though."

Grinning to herself, Beca rests her head against the back of the couch and shuts her eyes as she waits for Chloe to finish up. She slips her hands into her pockets, and grasps the USB in her left hand, wondering if she'll ever manage to get up the nerve to acknowledge the perfect moment when and if it ever does show up.

This woman is going to be her undoing, she just knows it.

Xoxoxoxo

Even though Beca technically managed to not make a complete fool of herself, she still ended up being even more of a dork than usual.

Which was something that Chloe wasn't really bothered about because she happens to like a flustered and frustrated Beca.

Beca stomps her way down the hall and bangs her head against her dorm room door, and just stands there, lightly muttering, "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot." To herself.

She had decided that maybe a nice Italian late lunch, early dinner, thing would be agreeable to the both of them, as well as to her bank account. And Chloe had agreed, and seemed very happy at the prospect that Beca had actually picked somewhere for them to go. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was Beca's inability to keep her cool when she really needs to.

She started to stammer. And Beca doesn't stammer.

Unless, of course, she's put in a nice ambient environment with someone she's got a massive crush on, and said person is looking at her with her gorgeous eyes and she just loses all cool.

She groans at the memory of her uncoordinated self.

It started with the breadsticks.

'It's always the breadsticks,' She thinks to herself ruefully, before shaking her head and actually letting herself into her room.

She's glad her roommate isn't around yet, because she can barely stand the thought of being alone with herself at the moment, she doesn't think she can handle being around Kimmy Jin.

She flops onto her bed and covers her face with her pillow.

The breadsticks weren't the issue. Not really anyways.

It was her overexcited puppy like actions that were the issue. She had reached over rather exuberantly, in an attempt to give her hands something to do rather than be stuffed into her pockets.

She miscalculated just how close the breadbasket was though, because she sent most of the bread sailing over towards Chloe and to the floor.

Chloe had just brushed it off, like it was no big deal, and had placed a calming hand on top of Beca's own hand, trying to placate her fears, but that just sent Beca's butterflies into overdrive.

Beca's face had gone so red, she's sure, that she's surprised no one said anything.

She yells into her pillow that's still across her face, and uses her hands to push the pillow further into her face, smothering the noise.

"Please refrain from trying to kill yourself while I'm here. I don’t want to end up looking like a suspect."

Beca rolls her eyes, but mumbles into the pillow, "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure you know of better ways to actually kill me and get away with it."

She doesn't get a response, and she's kinda worried about what that means, but she's too comfortable to remove the pillow from her face to check the situation. She hears her roommate typing on her laptop after a little while though, and that gives her a sense of relief.

"You're right." Kimmy Jin finally says after some time and it makes Beca smile to herself at that.

Beca sighs to herself as she once again remembers the absolutely horrific outing she's had with Chloe to date.

After the breadsticks debacle, Beca's cool was basically nonexistent. She kept fumbling and stuttering; the harder she tried to regain her sense of balance, the worse things would go.

Chloe, bless her heart, was so sweet, which only served to worsen Beca's uncoordinated self.

"Beca…it's only me. What's wrong?" She had asked after Beca had successfully managed to spill her second glass of water across the table cloth.

Beca's face was permanently flushed, and she shakes her head, "I don't…that's not; I'm fine. There's nothing wrong! I'm just extra clumsy today."

Chloe had nodded her head, but she still looked unconvinced since Beca continued to refuses to meet her eyes for the rest of their lunch.

Chloe had been a little hurt by that, honestly thinking she must have made Beca uncomfortable in some way. Beca's never not met her eyes when they talk to each other. In fact, Chloe was under the impression that Beca made it a point to meet her eyes to let her know she's paying complete attention.

That wasn't the case this time. Beca seemed worlds away, and would only meet Chloe's eyes for brief moments, after she did something clumsy and she was flustered and their eyes would meet and she'd blush harder and then look away immediately.

Beca had dropped Chloe off at her place before quickly turning away and leaving, not even saying goodbye properly, and really, was it so hard to get a hug these days?

After Beca had left Chloe's place, she had all but run back to her dorm room, not wanting to run into any of the other Bellas, or Jesse for that matter.

She screams into her pillow, flailing her legs around, absolutely wanting to kick her own ass for her uncoordinated self.

"Are you having a seizure?" Comes the dry question from her roommate, and it makes Beca stop moving about for a second before finally rolling over, dropping the pillow off her face.

"No. But it's nice to know that you care." Beca says, eyeing the other girl from her place on her bed, half of her body dangling off of the side of said bed.

Kimmy Jin snorts, but doesn't look up from her laptop as she says, "So what did you do this time to make the world think you're an absolute spaz?"

Beca huffs, affronted by that question, but remains silent for a beat because, well Kimmy Jin isn't exactly wrong to question her, when this seems to be her routine for when she fucks up.

"I apparently have lost all control over my body parts. Namely my arms and legs. And don’t get me started on my face deciding red is more my color."

Her roommate finally turns away from her laptop and faces Beca, a look of amusement evident on her face as she says, "Let me guess. You were with Beale."

She curses under her breath when she feels the blush returning to her cheeks, and Kimmy Jin obviously notices because she just smirks and says, "You don’t have to say anything. I've gotten my answer. Did you give her that thing you've been meaning to for the past week and a half?"

Beca's eyes widen, "How the hell do you even know about that?"

The other woman just shrugs her shoulders, "You sometimes mumble in your sleep when you've been sleep deprived for a long time. You kept saying 'don’t fuck it up Mitchell' and 'just give it to her'. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the _her_ is Beale."

Beca frowns a little at that, but manages to say, "Her name is Chloe."

Which apparently was what Kimmy Jin was waiting for because she gives her a predatory smile as she says, "So it _is_ about the redhead."

"Oh my God you weasel." Beca grumbles out, eyes wide as she watches her roommate laugh lightly, "you had no idea, did you?"

Sobering up, Kimmy Jin shakes her head, "I had my ideas. But thanks for the confirmation. Now, seriously though. Did you give her the USB, and is that why you're exceptionally nervous now?"

Beca contemplates telling her to mind her own business, but honestly, they've actually been getting along better these days and she doesn’t want to go back to the way things were in the beginning. She sighs, "No. I haven't given her the USB yet…I just. She makes me really nervous and I keep wanting to keep my cool and that just makes me even more self-conscious and jittery. And I keep remembering that I have this gift in my pocket that I want to give to her, and every time I think the perfect moment is upon us, I make a mess and embarrass myself and wreck havoc and the moment is lost again."

Her roommate raises an eyebrow and just stares at her, no hint of emotion on her face and it makes Beca a little bit nervous and a lot weirded out because she can't read her at all.

Suddenly Kimmy Jin's standing up and walking over towards her and whacking her upside the head with a pillow, "Get over yourself and just be you, and girl the hell up and give her the damn memory stick!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this is chapter two, and I'm pretty sure there's going to be one more chapter...or two depending on if I decide to split the next part up. That'll depend on just how long it'll be after the editing x Thanks for the support and feedback (:


	3. Addicted To You

_Suddenly Kimmy Jin's standing up and walking over towards her and whacking her upside the head with a pillow, "Get over yourself and just be you, and girl the hell up and give her the damn memory stick."_

Beca tries to defend herself from the onslaught of hits from the pillow, but she's not prepared for it and by the time she's really aware of what's happening, Kimmy Jin stops and folds her arms across her chest.

"It's honestly a miracle the both of you ever even got to be friends. You're so _insufferable_."

Beca drops her arms from their defensive posture, and rolls her eyes, "I'm _not_ that bad."

Scoffing, Kimmy Jin says, "Yes, that’s right. You just prefer not to get anywhere of consequence with Beale- _Chloe_." She amends after Beca raises an eyebrow at her.

She continues, "You obviously _really_ like her. And don’t even give me that 'yeah, we're best friends, of course I really like her,' B.S. you know what I mean. Liking her romantically doesn't negate how much you like your friendship with her."

Beca huffs, but she's smirking a little bit, "Wow Kimmy…I don’t think I've ever seen you so passionate, except when you're talking about one of your many OTPs."

Kimmy Jin flips her hair over her shoulder, and goes back to her desk, ignoring what Beca said, "I've done my part. Now it's up to you to stop being so hesitant and just go for it. There's _no_ way she's going to let things get weird between the both of you-whatever her response is. She's so infatuated by you as it is."

Beca hums, shifting so that she's sitting more comfortably as she says, "It's not Chloe that-" she pauses and then starts again, slowly, trying to properly articulate herself, "I know she'll be wonderful, regardless…but a part of me wants her not to misunderstand the meaning behind this, ya know? It's not an, 'oh, you're my best friend, here's some really personal mixes for you,' thing…It's me trying to say, 'you're my best friend _and_ I really like you romantically and this is how I feel in ways I can't express in my own words, so have some personal mixes I've worked on for ages to get perfect for you.'"

Kimmy Jin turns around in her chair and fixes Beca with a look as she nods slowly, "So maybe tell her that. Or write it down if you don’t think you can get the words out without fumbling over yourself."

Beca really wants to wipe the smirk off of Kimmy Jin's face for that last barb, but she supposes she had it coming really.

"It's not like I'm not going to give her the memory stick, alright? I just…I need the perfect moment and it just seems like I'm severely lacking in that department."

Beca's almost certain she hears Kimmy Jin say something along the lines of, 'it'd be a perfect moment because it's with Chloe you imbecile,' but she can't be sure because her roommate apparently decides she's had enough of her and has put on her earphones and is back to ignoring her.

Beca rolls her eyes at Kimmy Jin, and takes out her phone.

She can't help that her mind goes back to Chloe and their earlier time together, and she realizes that she may have hurt Chloe's feelings a little bit by not saying goodbye properly and so she hovers over the redhead's name in her phone, a small smile taking over her face as she sees the new picture she has for her, thanks to Aubrey, before finally typing out, ' ** _Im still really sorry bout earlier. I didn’t think it was possible for me to be even more of a fumbling idiot. Im also sorry I totally just ran off but uh embarrassment and all that x_** '

Satisfied that she's managed to do some disaster management she takes a deep breath and pulls out her own laptop and slips in the USB.

There's only one folder and it's labeled **'Chlo** ' and Beca just smiles dorkily before double clicking and looking at the tracks she's put inside.

She had decided, after the fiasco with Jesse, that simply leaving it named ' **for you** ' wasn't really acceptable if it leaves things up for interpretation. This way, there's no way one can misconstrue her meaning. It's for Chloe, and it was always meant to be for Chloe.

She's made many mixes with the redhead in mind. Not that she'd ever tell anyone that. Except maybe Chloe really.

But Beca _has_ made a lot of mixes with Chloe in mind, either for her or about her or just because she thinks she'd really like it.

One such mix is 'I See Fire' and Beca wants to, above all else, see what Chloe's reaction would be to this song, after Beca's had her way with it.

But it didn't make the cut into this particular USB, because it's not quite right for what Beca's trying to say. And although she's really proud of how it has turned out, she has it saved in a different folder on her desktop to hand over to Chloe some other time. Beca will most probably hand it to her even before she manages to give her the USB.

Sighing, Beca scrolls through the tracks that did make the cut into the memory stick, knowing that these songs all fit perfectly for what she's trying to convey.

'Stay With Me' makes the cut, and really Beca doesn't know how she's gotten up the nerve to even think to put it in and mix it. But she's not going to take it out now. She wants _more than_ , and she's certain she wants it with Chloe.

'You Are The Best Thing' is one of the tracks that she really wasn't sure she was even going to mix because the original already means the world to her and she's sure Chloe would appreciate the beauty of it as well. Beca ends up just adding to the sound, adding conviction and flowing notes and the result is something Beca herself wasn't really expecting when she first started mixing the song.

Beca also places the original song onto the memory stick for good measure. It's a fantastic song and Chloe would probably end up humming it whenever she gets the chance, and that's something Beca honestly would love to bear witness to.

She's about to start re-listening to her mix of 'Love Me Like You Do', wanting to make sure it's up to par with what she remembers it being when she first put it together when she hears her phone chime.

It's a reply from Chloe, ' ** _don’t worry about it becs xoxo and id hope you'd learn to stop being embarrassed round me, I don’t judge; I happen to love flustered beca ;) xx'_**

Beca's throat suddenly is very dry and she doesn’t know what to do or make of the text.

That's not true though. She knows what she wants it to mean. She wants it to mean exactly what it says, but Beca's got a feeling Chloe means it a lot more innocently than Beca's taking it.

She groans and apparently it was loud enough for Kimmy Jin to hear, because her roommate turns around questioningly but Beca just shakes her head and goes back to her mixes.

Kimmy Jin rolls her eyes before she turns back around to face her laptop, shaking her head and thinking, 'hopeless. She's absolutely hopeless.'

Xoxoxoxo

_"Look, I'm sure it's just Beca being weird okay? She’ll figure her shit out, and you two will be absolutely fine again and she'll tell you all about it and it'll be something you can laugh about."_

Chloe sighs, switching the phone over to her other ear as she says, "I just don’t understand why we've suddenly taken a bajillion steps backwards.  She tells me everything Aubrey."

" _Chloe, sweetheart, listen to me okay? I'm sure everything is fine, and she just needs a little time to figure out how to let you in. You know her better than anyone, and you've said it yourself, she sometimes needs to process things before talking about it._ " Aubrey says matter-of-factly , trying to soothe Chloe's worries over Beca's decidedly twitchy behavior recently.

Chloe nods to herself, sighing into the phone, "Yeah, you're right, I guess. It still doesn't make it any easier for me though; not when she runs off all helter-skelter, not even giving me a decent hug."

Aubrey chuckles over the phone and Chloe furrows her brow in confusion until the blonde says, " _Is that why you're upset right now? Because you haven’t gotten your fix yet?_ "

Chloe blushes but she isn't about to deny it when it's basically the truth, "Maybe. So what if it is?"

" _So nothing. I don’t have anything to say about that Bug. That's all on you and your feelings._ "

Clearing her throat, Chloe decides to change the direction of this conversation slightly, "So…the BBQ tomorrow. Do you really have to make it so that it's a birthday thing too?"

Aubrey's eyes widen slightly, having thought she had kept a lid on the surprise rather well, " _Well…I mean it's not officially like a surprise party; it's literally just a birthday/BBQ/get together. I can cancel the magician and the bouncy castle._ " She adds teasingly, to try and garner a laugh out of Chloe.

She succeeds.

Chloe giggles as she lays down across the couch, "It's alright, you can keep the bouncy castle…but exnay on the magician this time."

Aubrey laughs lightly at that and then waits a little before asking, " _Why do you want me to cancel the birthday aspect?_ "

Chloe just shrugs a little, absentmindedly pulling at the loosely woven throw, tugging and running her fingers through the material, "I don’t know…I don’t want you to cancel it, I guess…I just. I'm not feeling very hyped."

Aubrey smiles sadly, knowing it's this weirdness with Beca that's making her feel this way, " _We won't make it a big deal; that's why we're having a day at home, rather than going all out. I know that that's what you'd prefer. A nice intimate time with your friends._ "

Chloe grins a little, her heart feeling like it's filling to the brim with the amount of love she's feeling towards Aubrey, "You're the absolute best, did you know that?"

Aubrey chuckles, " _I've had_ some _idea._ "

"Thank you Aubrey. Honestly, I don’t know who else could make me feel better about this."

" _You're very welcome Chloe; it's what I'm here for. Go shower and get ready for bed, alright? We've got a great day ahead of us tomorrow. And don't you worry about Beca, alright?_ "

Chloe hums, a tiny smile on her face, "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

" _Bye."_

Chloe hangs up and places the phone on her stomach as she continues to lay there on the couch, playing with the throw, contemplating the possible outcomes of tomorrow.

Her phone chimes and she lifts it lazily, half expecting a text from Beca, and the other half of her knowing it's most probably not.

' ** _Shower Chloe. Stop over thinking things. I need you over bright and early. Chop chop Aca-nerd. ~Bree'_**

Chloe laughs out loud and texts Aubrey back a thumbs up, before getting up and leaving to take her shower, humming Ryn Weaver's _Pierre_ as she does so.

Xoxoxoxoxo

She barely makes out the sound of incessant knocking, but Beca furrows her brow, thinking she must have accidently clicked on a drum loop somehow.

That is, that's what she thought, until her headphones are being lifted and her name is being hissed out at her, " _Beca_. There's a blonde here for you and she's seriously messing with my nightly routine right now and you need to seriously deal with this cuz I _will_ let her kill you, if need be."

Beca focuses enough to realize the knocking was coming from someone on the other side of the door and Kimmy Jin had answered already and it's someone for her.

"Aubrey?" She asks as she turns around and sees the blonde in question standing in front of her, with her arms crossed, a look of unimpressed nonchalance on her face.

"Very good Beca, yes, that's my name."

Rolling her eyes, Beca gets up off of her bed and puts her laptop and headphones on her desk before turning back around and facing the blonde.

She also sees Kimmy Jin walk out of the room to give them some privacy and Beca can't help but wonder what Aubrey said to her to get her to leave the room.

"What's up?" Beca asks, forcing herself to sound cool, calm and collected.

Aubrey narrows her eyes slightly but then drops her arms and flops onto the bed, "Look, I'm not gonna pretend to know what's going on with you. Or pretend that it's any of my business and demand that you tell me…"

Beca nods her head, appreciating that a lot more than she'll let on, and waits for Aubrey to continue.

"All I'm gonna say is, I hope to God that you figure your shit out soon."

Beca nods slowly, not entirely certain that Aubrey is done with what she came here for.

Aubrey just nods her head once and then very seriously, "You've made sure that the Bellas know that it's just a low-key birthday get together right? Because seriously, Chloe doesn’t want a big deal made out of her birthday."

Beca's heart flutters at the mention of Chloe, but she manages not to blush so deeply, "Yeah, you know that they know. And low-key intimate birthdays is so much more her thing, I'm surprised she went so big last year."

Aubrey smirks, "No, you're just still miffed that she got so drunk that she ended up jiggling around that rather spectacular specimen at the club last year."

Beca's cheeks are enflamed, "N-no, no! That's not it at all."

"Uh-huh. Right. And you sulking in the booth and making eyes at her was what? My imagination?" Aubrey asks, arms raising and being placed on her hips.

Beca grumbles, rolling her eyes, "Look, I just worry about Chloe when she's so sweet and open and willing to make new friends, even when she's hammered."

Aubrey laughs, "Beca, stop. You had no problems until she was dancing with that brunette, instead of trying to get you to dance with her."

"Dude, not cool." Beca's eyes narrow as she looks up at the blonde in front of her.

Aubrey shrugs, but puts her hands up in surrender, "I'm just saying."

Rolling her eyes, Beca stands up and folds her arms across her chest, "Uh-huh, and what is it exactly that you're saying?"

Aubrey gives her a small smile, "I'm saying, I think your feelings for Chloe are well placed, and that I just hope you seriously girl the hell up and do something about it."

" _Yes! Exactly!_ "

Both women turn towards the door where Kimmy Jin's voice just came from, and they watch as she sheepishly pokes her head through the door, "Sorry, was that…I shouldn't have done that."

Beca laughs out lout, throwing her head back in disbelief at the situation she finds herself in, "Is this real life? This cant be real life, this is insane."

Kimmy Jin walks into the room and just takes a seat on her bed and thankfully says nothing.

Aubrey raises an eyebrow and looks at Beca pointedly until she stops laughing and sobers up.

"I'm serious Beca."

The brunette hums, arms going back to their defensive position folded across her chest, "What makes you think I haven’t done something about it?"

Aubrey snorts, "Because if you had done something about it, I'd have heard from Chloe. Or you'd have said that ages ago instead of letting me talk."

Beca throws her hands up in frustration, "Fine. Fine! You're right, I haven't, but that doesn't mean I'm not planning on it. Or that I haven’t _tried_."

Aubrey nods, impressed, "Good. Now you just have to stop trying and actually _do_. Because your weird behavior is worrying Chloe and she's starting to think there's something wrong with her. She thinks your pushing her away."

Beca's eyes soften, "She does?"

Aubrey nods, "Yeah, but I told her that you're probably just trying to process things first before opening up your mouth."

Nodding, Beca says, "She knows that though."

"Yeah, except I very seriously doubt that things ever get to this point with you while you're trying to figure out your shit. Don’t you usually manage to sit with her and she gives you the silence while you process things, and then you open up and she's there one hundred and fifty percent?"

Beca nods, "Yeah, she's great. She's absolutely wonderful."

Aubrey nods, "Right, so you can see why this new weirdness coming from you is probably worrying her a little?"

The brunette smacks herself in the head, "Oh my God, she thinks I'm a goddamn freak now, who can't even function like a normal human being."

"Pause. No. That's _not_ what I said." Aubrey says, shaking her head, eyes wide as she takes in Beca's forlorn look.

"No, I _know_ , but…seriously, I'm working on not losing my cool around her and I just, lose complete control and I end up runnin' away before making things worse and-I can't help it when she looks at me with her _eyes_!"

Aubrey just grins at her, because how often does she get to see the infamous hardass Beca Mitchell lose her cool over one of her best friends.

Kimmy Jin sarcastically says, "Yes well, what else is she meant to look at you with?"

Beca fixes her with a deadly glare, not at all appreciating the input, "I really don’t need this right now, thanks."

Aubrey steps in-between them, deescalating the situation, "Beca, Chloe doesn’t think you're a freak. Now, maybe if you would take the time to actually, oh I don’t know, maybe talk to her? That'd probably help too."

Beca sighs, rubbing her eyes before wiping her hands down her face, "That's what I've been trying to do."

Aubrey shakes her head, "No, what you've been doing is psyching yourself up. What you need to do is just be there in the moment with her. She's not some stranger…she's Chloe Beale, and she understands you better than you probably understand yourself. Just talk to her. Tell her what's going on."


	4. I Was Made For Loving You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter of 'I See Fire' x  
> It's a doozy

Chloe rings the doorbell to Aubrey's house more so out of habit than actual necessity. She has a key to the place and everything, but Chloe still feels like Mr. Posen might be around and she respects his wishes too much to use the key without 'alerting them to her presence first'.

She hears Aubrey call out and Chloe grins as she lets herself in, "Good morning!"

Aubrey smiles at her beautifully as she continues making her way out the back door with a large igloo cooler in her arms, "Good morning!" Her smile drops into a pout, "Chloe, I told you not to worry about bringing anything, I've got it all covered!"

Chloe just shrugs, happily putting down the big bowl of potato salad she made and quickly going over to help Aubrey carry the cooler outside, "Yeah, and I told you I was going to bring something regardless of what you said. What do you even have in this thing? And how in the hell were you carrying this on your own?" She asks, looking pointedly at the ridiculously heavy ice box they're carrying out the back.

Aubrey rolls her eyes and laughs, "I workout. And to answer your question," they set the cooler down breathlessly, "a lot of delicious-ness. Can't have a BBQ without the proper refreshments."

Chloe raises an eyebrow and lifts up the lid and laughs because of the sheer volume of Capri Sun juice pouches lying on the surface, almost but not quite, hiding the just as impressive number of wine coolers and water bottles.

Aubrey winks at her and hip checks Chloe on her way back inside, "Told you I've got you covered."

Chloe giggles as she closes the lid and follows Aubrey inside to help her setting up.

Xoxoxo

Taking a deep breath, Beca finally puts the USB into a small fancy gift bag, if only to make sure she ends up giving it to Chloe.

"Oh will you look at that? She's finally done it!" Kimmy Jin says from her place on her bed, sitting and watching with rapt attention, trying to downplay just how excited she is that Beca is finally going to do the thing.

Beca glares at her roommate as she carefully ties a bow with the ribbons attached to the bag, "You're really starting to get on my nerves there Kimmy."

However Kimmy Jin just smirks at her and it causes Beca to roll her eyes again, "Whatever, I'm gonna be going now. Don’t wait up or whatever…"

She grabs a backpack that she had packed with some clothes and a hoodie for when it gets dark, and she carefully puts the gift bag into her backpack.

'Here goes nothing,' she thinks to herself, shutting the door behind her, purposefully ignoring the rather uncharacteristically excited whooping coming from her roommate.

She pulls out her phone and rechecks the location of Aubrey's house.

No matter how many times they've gone over, it still blows her mind that Aubrey's parents have left her that house. It's enormous and it's literally about nine minutes away, walking distance, from campus.

And it's enormous.

She rolls her eyes and shifts the backpack up onto her shoulder and heads off towards 561 University Drive.

"Hey Beca! Wait up!"

Beca can't help the grin on her face when she hears Stacie calling out to her, but it quickly drops from her face when she feels her slam into her at nearly full speed. Thankfully Stacie was prepared for the collision because she wraps her arms around Beca and holds fast.

"Whoa there, sorry Beca, I didn't realize you were gonna stop so fast for me." Stacie giggles as she squeezes Beca in greeting before carefully letting go once she's certain the tinier brunette is on solid footing.

Beca just laughs lightly and smiles up at her, "Don't worry 'bout it. You heading over to Aubrey's now?"

Stacie nods, "Yeah, Cynthia Rose was supposed to wait for me, but I got held back trying to look for my swim suit, so I told her she should head out without me. I finally found it though!" Stacie exclaims, an excited grin on her face as she lifts up her own bag to show Beca, her other hand gently taking hold of Beca's as they fall into step together.

Smiling, Beca nods, "Well, I'm glad you found it; we can go on over together. Do you think we're the last ones to make it over?"

Stacie bites her lip and tilts her head contemplating the answer, "You know…I'd say yes if not for Fat Amy. I think she said she was going to be a little while because she wanted to go and pick up Chloe's cake."

Beca hums in acknowledgement and the two of them walk in companionable silence, with Stacie lightly humming a lighthearted tune as she gently swings their hands back and forth, causing Beca to grin wider at the silliness of these aca-nerds she calls friends.

As they walk up the driveway Beca is once again hit with the sheer size of the place.

"It's like a mini-mansion." Beca hears Stacie say as they carefully step up the front steps and push open the door, having gotten instructions from Aubrey about that.

Beca laughs as she nods, "Especially since she's the only one living here; it's freakin fantastic really."

Lily and Ashley are in the kitchen prepping the meat to go on the grill when they walk in and they greet the both of them happily, going back to their designated tasks, chatting amicably, albeit quietly.

"I'm just gonna put our bags away, I'll see you outside." Beca says, easily taking Stacie's bag from her and slipping it over her shoulder, receiving an appreciative smile in return.

"Thanks Beca! I'll tell them you'll be right out." She slips out the back door and Beca can make out the excited greeting Stacie elicits from Chloe and just the sound of her voice alone makes her get nervous all over again.

'Fucking focus Beca. Don't mess this up. It's Chloe for fuck's sake. Don't ruin this for her,' she mentally berates herself as she finds the room that's housing all of their things for the day.

It's spacious and lovely bedroom really, and she can tell that everyone's already been through here and has already put their things away.

She smiles when she sees the stack of presents on the vanity table, and contemplates just leaving her little gift bag with the other presents.

She's just about to take it out of her bag when she hears someone walk into the room.

"Hey," It's Chloe, "I thought maybe you got lost or something." She laughs lightly and her eyes are super bright, and her cheeks are already colored from excitement, and Beca is an absolute goner.

She shakes her head as she says, "No, not lost, just trying to figure out my game plan."

Beca forgoes taking out the present for now and just drops her bag onto the couch that's at the end of a rather large and comfortable looking bed, turning away from the vanity table and facing Chloe.

"Hey," Beca says as she sheepishly waves her hand in greeting.

Which has the desired effect on Chloe, because the redhead is rolling her eyes and stepping closer to her and holding out her arms, stopping just before reaching Beca and silently asking Beca if it's okay that she hugs her.

And that alone makes Beca want to kick her own ass for the doubt she's made Chloe feel when it comes to she and her.

Beca easily and immediately walks into Chloe's arms and holds onto the back of her shirt tightly, sighing contentedly when she feels Chloe's arms wrap around her just as tightly, if not more so, bringing them infinitesimally closer together.

Beca's heart hammers a ridiculous beat in her heart, but that's nothing compared to what happens when she feels Chloe's hand run through her hair gently, "You've been holding out on me Mitchell."

Laughing lightly to cover up the fact that her heart literally skipped a beat, Beca draws back only enough to be able to look Chloe in the face, "I don't know what you're talking about Beale."

Scrunching up her nose adorably, Chloe pouts, "Don't pretend you don't know how long it's been since you've given me a proper hug."

Beca's face should probably just take on a permanent red hue whenever she's going to be around Chloe; it'd be easier than constantly feeling her face heat up in stages, "Yo-you're absolutely right and I would like to formally apologize."

Chloe's eyes light up at that, her arms tightening around Beca's shoulders, "Oh yeah? And how, exactly, are you going to be apologizing and making up for it?"

Pretending to think about it for a little while, Beca tilts her head and hmms, darting her eyes away from Chloe's face before having a pseudo-eureka moment and widening her eyes as she looks back at Chloe's rather amused face, "Why, that's easy! I'll just hug you now for as long as you want! And then I'll spend the rest of the day by your side and I'll even be on your team by default for anything and everything we may end up doing today."

Chloe's smile is worth every little bit of nerves Beca is feeling after having said that, and Beca doesn't think she's ever seen Chloe's eyes light up so much.

"You mean that? Really?" Chloe asks, needing the reassurance that Beca isn't joking around now.

Nodding, Beca tugs on Chloe's waist and rests her head against her shoulder, "Mhmm, really. Now come on, we've got this hug of undetermined length to finish up so we can head back outside to go be with the rest of the nerds."

Beca can't see Chloe's face, but she can practically feel her vibrating in her arms in complete rapture at Beca's words and she feels so proud of herself for being able to do something right.

'Maybe Aubrey had a point,' Beca thinks to herself as she feels Chloe nuzzle into her hair affectionately. 'Hell, maybe Kimmy Jin had a point too.'

Chloe would gladly just stay there with Beca in her arms for the rest of the day honestly, and not find a single thing she would rather do more, but she also really wants to swim and have fun with the girls too and she's suddenly far more excited than she was yesterday about today.

"Okay, we're gonna pause this hug, cuz I'm still not done here, and we're gonna get outside and get into that fantastic pool now okay? Okay!"

Beca feels Chloe step away and then grab both of her hands before giving her a dazzling smile and pulling her after her.

Beca doesn't even try to hide her smile. What would be the use?

Xoxoxo

Once outside, Beca was greeted enthusiastically by just about everyone, including Fat Amy who winked at her and tapped the side of her nose a couple of times.

She doesn't have much time to dwell on that though because Chloe pulls her away right after the hellos towards and under the cantilever umbrella that's by the pool deck.

Beca's eyes widen when she finally notices properly what Chloe is wearing.

She swallows dryly and her eyes want to bug out of her head when she sees Chloe start to take off what she's wearing though. Beca can make out the bikini strings to Chloe's top delicately tied around her neck, showing off her bronze shoulders, a hint of the dark blue bikini seeping through the white trellis tunic cover up she's wearing, enough so that Beca can make out her shape.

When Chloe breezily lifts up the tunic, Beca is certain that she hears an angel chorus sound, because Chloe looks fantastic in her bikini, and Beca is not worthy of being in her presence when she looks like a goddess.

Beca's eyes flutter as she follows Chloe's movements as she wriggles out of her well loved jeans shorts.

Beca is pretty sure she's died and gone to heaven in the seconds it has taken Chloe to disrobe and reveal herself in her bikini.

"Come on slow poke, get out of your clothes, I need you to put sunscreen on me, so I can do you next." Chloe says excitedly, poking at Beca to get her to move.

Her brain has short-circuited. There's no way around it. Beca has lost all of her abilities to act like a functioning member of society.

"You-wait, what?"

Chloe tilts her head and grins as she tugs on Beca's loose fitting plaid top, "You're not going to be swimming in your button up, are you?"

Beca stiltedly shakes her head, "N-no."

Grinning brightly, Chloe nods, "Right! So you're also going to want to be protected from the sun, so we're going to get you out of your clothes and then slather you with about hmm two inches of sunscreen." She sticks her tongue out teasingly, "That should just about cover it. Don’t want you getting sunburned."

Beca giggles.

She giggles, and it makes Beca want to bury her own head under the water right away because she's fairly certain some of the girls overheard her and she wants to die right now because she's supposed to be a damn badass, and here she is swooning and falling over herself around Chloe.

Her hands are shaking a little bit as she starts unbuttoning her shirt, revealing her own burgundy bandeau bikini top, and as she does so she notices Chloe walking over towards one of the deck loungers. Chloe puts her clothes onto the chair and then reaches for the sunscreen and starts rubbing it into her arms and chest and nose and basically onto every part of her skin that's exposed.

Beca shakes her head to stop herself from perving on Chloe and quickly pulls off her jeans, picking up her clothes and walking closer to Chloe to put her clothes down as well.

"Could you get my back? I promise I'll have you covered after you're done." Chloe asks sweetly, holding out the sunscreen.

Beca doesn’t know how she manages to grab the bottle without dropping it or accidentally missing completely and hitting Chloe's head, but she's grateful either way really.

Chloe lifts her hair up into a messy bun and turns so her back is facing Beca, and the brunette lifts her head up in silent prayer before she shakily squirts some sunscreen into the palm of her hand, and warms it up before she, just as shakily, reaches out for her shoulders and starts rubbing it in.

She's barely touching the redhead and really it's almost more than she can take right now, but Chloe isn't having any of it because she turns her head to look at Beca over her shoulder and raises an eyebrow as she teasingly says, "I don’t have cooties Becs."

"Of course not," Beca stammers out, chuckling before pressing her hands fully onto Chloe's skin.

She quickly rubs the lotion onto her shoulders, making sure she doesn’t miss a spot, before working some into the back of her neck and then down her shoulder blades.

Beca's eyes watch entranced as she sees Chloe's muscles contract and relax at her touch, amazed at the goosebumps her touch leaves behind on Chloe's skin, astounded at the tiny shivers Chloe has running through her body when she trails her hands delicately up her back, a small smile on flits across Beca's face when she realizes she's the one making Chloe react this way.

And all too soon she's done with her task and Chloe is giving her a flushed smile when she turns back around to face Beca as she says, "Your turn."

Beca doesn't even get to say anything; not that she would have even been able to had she tried. Chloe is already squeezing sunscreen onto her hands and rubbing it up and down her arms, her upper chest, her stomach and legs.

Chloe's taken it upon herself to make sure Beca is completely covered and in no danger of getting a sunburn. And Beca is slowly dying as she feels Chloe's hands glide over her skin, and she has to bite her lip to stop from moaning and letting her eyes roll to the back of her head.

If she's going to die, she can't think of a better way to go than by Chloe's hands.

Chloe smiles as she bites her own lip, looking up at Beca through her eyelashes, before playfully dabbing a bit of sunscreen onto her nose as she taps it to get Beca's attention, "I need you to turn around now."

Nodding her head, Beca does just that, and she nearly cries out when she feels Chloe's breath brush against her neck as the redhead sits up to get more comfortable and push Beca's hair aside.

Beca blacks out during this part really because she wouldn't have been held accountable for the noises that would have made it out of her mouth had she not zoned out.

Chloe for her part is insanely proud of herself for being able to render Beca speechless, and if things go to plan, the rest of the day should go about just as well as this. There's no way that her day is going to end without coming clean to Beca about the way she feels. She's decided she's going to lay it all out on the line, and hope to God that Beca acknowledges Chloe's feelings for her and at least hears her out.

"All set." Chloe whispers and she's delighted when Beca shivers slightly at that.

"G-great! Let's get into the pool, it looks fantastic!" Beca all but jumps up from her seated position, making herself a little bit light headed in the process, but it's all worth it because she manages not to let out the squeak that wanted to rip from her lips.

Chloe grins at her and they hop in, excited squeals sounding as the others join them, having waited for Beca and Chloe to have their moment uninterrupted.

Aubrey is smirking from her place by the grill, Fat Amy grinning widely beside her as they watch them swim around, unabashedly enjoying themselves.

"If worst comes to worst, we can always just lock them into one of the five massive bedrooms you've got in there, until they sort themselves out."

Aubrey laughs, taking her eyes off of the two in point and looks at Fat Amy, "You know, I was thinking the same thing."

Fat Amy winks at her, a massive smile on her face as she shoots her a hand gun gesture, "Great minds think alike Aca-Captain. Now whaddya say we hightail it out of here and sneak off with some of that awesome cake I brought with me, before those other bitches get to it."

Aubrey shakes her head, rolling her eyes, "Amy…that cake is for one of those 'other bitches'. What're you going to say when she finds out?"

Fat Amy shrugs her shoulders and smirks, "Ahh, but you assume she's going to find out. I'm not gonna be the one to tell her, are you?"

Laughing lightly, Aubrey turns back to the grill and shakes her head, "Could you bring out the plates from the cupboard by the fridge? Just put them right on the table, thanks."

xoxoxox

It's some time past two in the afternoon when lunch is officially ready for all of them and Beca gets unceremoniously shoved out of the pool by Cynthia Rose who was just "helping you along there squirt! It's not my fault you're so tiny."

Beca's still spluttering at suddenly being on dry land when Chloe is right by her side and wrapping her in a large fluffy towel, a loving smile on her face, "You okay?"

The brunette nods, a smile making its way across her own face, a little bit dazzled by Chloe's bright smile, "Yeah, I'm great. Thanks…for you know getting me off. " Her eyes widen as she quickly amends, "Shit! I mean! Thank you! For getting me the towel so I can dry off." She finishes off a little bit awkwardly and she smacks her forehead after she says this.

Chloe chuckles under her breath and reaches out for the hand that's still on Beca's forehead and tugs Beca close so that their faces are inches apart, "Stop abusing the goods, you goof. I happen to like this face without bruises and I'm not really keen on the 'beat-up' look either, thank you."

Beca's face goes about thirty shades darker red at this, and if Chloe hadn't turned around to tug her towards the patio deck where their food is waiting for them, she would have noticed the pile of mush she's reduced Beca into.

"What's up with you, DJ?" Fat Amy asks, her tone suggesting she knows exactly what's going on.

Beca shakes her head and mumbles, "Nothing. Nothing is up with me. This looks really good."

She shuffles over towards the table that's decked out with a bunch of different things and she grabs a plate and starts spooning some potato salad onto her plate right away, before grabbing one of the burgers and planting herself down on of the two person deck couch and folding her legs, putting the plate down and then wrapping herself up properly with the towel before tucking into her burger.

"Here you go, I grabbed you a sangria wine cooler…I figured you'd rather this than a fruit punch juice pouch." Chloe says sweetly, gracefully plopping down beside the brunette, putting down their drinks and situating herself better before putting her plate in her lap as well.

Beca smiles at her, swallowing before, self-consciously wiping at the corners of her mouth and saying, "You figured correctly. Thank you."

Chloe gives her a bright smile in return, before suddenly leaning into her space and lifting a finger, "You missed a spot." She whispers as she wipes at the corner of Beca's mouth, her blue eyes glinting playfully as she does so before licking said finger and sitting upright.

Stacie can barely contain the sound of her squealing, having seen everything that just occurred from her seat across from them, lifting up her knees and wrapping her arms around them as she grins at them from behind her knees. Aubrey, who had just walked over, just smiles as she puts down the Stacie's plate on the table in front of her, patting her knee affectionately before walking off again to get herself a plate.

Cynthia Rose shares a knowing look with Lily as they grin at each other as Beca continues to blush over what just occurred, fumbling with her napkin and her unfinished burger, not able to get a hold of herself at the moment.

It takes Chloe gently nudging her and looking pointedly at her plate for Beca to get a grip and focus on what she had initially been doing; which was eating her lunch.

'She's going to kill me,' Beca thinks, the blush on her face intensifying, as she takes another bite, trying and failing to ignore  the fact that Chloe's naked thigh is pressing against hers.

Xoxoxoxox

They all hop back into the pool after lunch, and this time they're joined by Aubrey and Fat Amy and they end up playing a rather boisterous round of chicken.

Chloe was an absolute star.

Beca doesn't know what she puts in with her wheaties in the morning, but whatever it is, it's working.

The minute there was mention of the game, Chloe had twirled to look at Beca so fast she sent flecks of water everywhere, grabbing onto her arm excitedly, "We're going to kick some serious ass!"

Beca's heart had somehow risen and lodged itself into her throat when she realized Chloe meant to have her ride on her shoulders to joust against the other girls.

Beca was going to be on Chloe's shoulders. Her legs are going to be around her neck.

The minute she had thought that, her face felt like it was on fire and she quickly dunked herself under water for a second to cool off, and get her mind reset, before breaking the surface and smirking widely, "You aca-babies are gonna get beat."

Chloe had beamed at her and Beca had felt such a rush at having that smile aimed at her.

That of course had started the trash talk and it had continued up until Stacie returned from the house with an arm full of pool noodles.

Once the rules were set, Aubrey wanting to make sure no one was at a disadvantage, Chloe had turned towards Beca and asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Beca nodded, because what else was she going to do?

Chloe grinned and motioned for her to get up, "Come on then, we're gonna knock all of these losers into the pool if it's the last thing we do."

The sheer determination in Chloe's tone was enough to get Beca's heart racing as she watches Chloe duck under the water enough for Beca to carefully climbed onto her shoulders. Regardless of how prepared she thought she was, she was not able to contain the squeak that erupted from her when Chloe stood up and lifted her up out of the water.

Chloe was so gentle and protective over her and Beca was swooning like she'd never swooned before.

"I've got you Becs. You just make sure you knock them down, alright? I won't let you fall." Chloe said, and Beca would have responded had she been able to form words.

As it was, the only thing she could think of was the fact that Chloe was holding onto her legs and rubbing her thumbs reassuringly across her skin.

Stacie had ceremoniously handed over a blue pool noodle by way of smacking it over her head, which had caused Chloe to laugh loudly even though she was objecting to the "abuse Stacie is obviously doling out towards my knight, with her very own jousting stick no less!"

Beca just laughed it off, patting Chloe's head by way of placating her, "Don’t you worry cupcake, she's gonna rue the day she thought she'd get away with hitting _me_."

Suffice to say, Beca had a much harder time than all the other girls combined trying to stay focused.

Not only did she have to joust and be constantly vigilant, she also had to make sure she didn't get distracted by Chloe's hand on her body.

Which is _much_ harder than she had first thought.

Surprisingly, the last two teams standing are Chloe and Beca, and Cynthia Rose and Lily.

The latter having some wicked drift compatibility to rival that of Chloe and Beca.

They're in the middle of a five minute break right now and all Beca can think of is how much she wishes this sweet torture can end already, because her heart can't take it anymore.

Chloe is peering over Beca's shoulder, a look of sheer intent on her face, "We've got to do something unexpected Becs…we need to catch Lily off guard; we need to distract her, that's the only way you'll be able swing without her seeing it coming."

Beca nods, but she has no idea how or what to do to even begin to accomplish that.

Chloe's eyes find Beca's and she focuses on her as a grin begins to spread across her face, "I need you to feign falling over. Feint left, and I'll juxtapose your momentum by going the other direction, then as your falling, swing the noodle upwards as hard as you can."

Chloe's looking at her like she's hung the sun and moon and all the stars in the sky and Beca feels like she can do absolutely anything right now.

"You got it Chlo." Beca winks at her and she's surprised by the enthusiastic kiss she receives on her cheek from Chloe.

"Alright jousters! Get into position." Aubrey calls out from her place on the side of the pool, with Stacie by her side waving around a pool noodle.

The rest of the Bellas are all gathered around the edges of the pool as well, to watch the epic takedown. Regardless of who wins, they all know it's going to be a good fight.

Cynthia Rose high fives Lily before ducking under water to let her get onto her shoulders and when Lily is lifted up, she twirls the pool noodle over their heads and then gives a little bow, nearly toppling herself over, but Lily quickly rights herself up and grins sheepishly down at Cynthia Rose, who's giving her a look that clearly reads, 'really?' to the amusement of the others.

Chloe swims in front of Beca and holds her shoulders and says, "We've got this," before spinning and then ducking below the surface, letting Beca once again tuck her legs around her securely, this time ready for the lift off.

Beca is filled with a sense of purpose as she holds onto her jousting stick and feels Chloe make her way towards the middle of the pool, where the meet Cynthia Rose and Lily.

Aubrey clears her throat, "Alright, on my whistle."

Beca's eyes don’t leave Lily's, even though the latter refuses to blink, placing them in a staring match that Beca figures is meant to throw her off her game.

Beca isn't intimidated in the slightest though and she just smirks, her grip tightening on her pool noodle.

Aubrey rolls her eyes at the intensity coming from both teams and lifts the whistle to her lips and blows.

Immediately, Beca feigns left, feeling the lower half of her body go right and she sees Lily's eyes go wide, not expecting her to go down without being hit and Lily's arms drop at the unexpected drop and Beca is laughing as she launches she pool noodle upwards towards Lily and effectively smacking her right in her center of gravity.

Cynthia Rose had loosened her grip on Lily when she saw Chloe apparently losing her footing and falling right and she didn’t have time to react to the surprise recon attack and she ends up getting pulled backwards when Lily's legs wrap around her shoulders tighter, effectively dropping the both of them backwards into the water.

Lily comes up spluttering first, doing a great impression of a fish out of water, eyes wide and mouth opening and shutting in shock. Cynthia Rose is next, head thrown back and laughing out loud at the absolute surprise turn of events.

The girls all erupt in cheers and applause as Chloe jumps up and down with an equally giddy Beca on her shoulders.

"You did it! Beca, you did it!" Chloe squeals, dropping a kiss against the inside of her thigh, the closest bit of skin at her reach at the moment, her excitement over winning trumping thinking clearly.

And Beca freezes at that and nearly faints and her ears go bright red and then she's being dropped into the water and then spun around into Chloe's waiting arms, still bobbing up and down in the water excitedly, "You were fantastic!"

Beca tries to form words, she really does, but she can't say anything and so she ends up just smiling like an idiot, her arms stay motionless, and her hands refuse to loosen her grip on her winning jousting stick.

She's in a daze as they all make their way out of the pool.

She's not sure who hand her a towel and pries the pool noodle from her hands but it happens and she's still in a daze as they all make their way inside the house, getting pats and congratulatory hugs and high fives along the way.

She's not sure what's going on or what the plan is now, but she just knows she really needs to get away for a minute, if only to gather her mind.

Beca darts off and locks herself in one of the bathrooms, leaning her back and resting her head against the door; she stands there for a good minute just replaying the last couple of minutes over in her head.

She's one hundred and fifty percent certain that Chloe's lips were pressed against her inner thigh.

Her rather sensitive inner thigh.

The inner thigh that _no one_ has ever even thought to kiss before.

'And Chloe not only kissed you there, but she had even rubbed sunscreen all over you, and her hands were there too,'  her mind deems it necessary to remind her and she groans as she smacks her head against the door.

She's so frustratingly turned on right now and she knows it. Beca is not even about to deny it to herself. Chloe Beale has got her absolutely on edge.

Beca takes a deep breath and drops the towel from around her shoulders before walking over towards the sink and gripping the edge with both hands, staring at herself in the mirror.

Her face is flushed, her pupils are dilated, her hair is slicked back and still dripping. She can see the blush starting at her chest and flowing upwards all the way to her ears, which are a bright red.

Her breathing is faster right now, and she can nearly make out her heart beating madly in her chest.

She chuckles deep in her chest, and she splashes cool water on her face in an attempt to cool herself off.

"It won't do you good to just jump the girl Beca. That's not the right way to communicate." She mumbles to herself as she wipes her face with a towel, mentally shaking herself before picking up the large beach towel and nodding once before leaving the safety of the bathroom.

She follows the sound of the girls and finds them all sitting out on the patio again, having grabbed some snacks to tide them over before dinner.

Beca's heart stutters when her eyes lock onto Chloe's, and it's like the fire within got doused with gasoline.

She trips on her way towards the backdoor and that makes her pause and reevaluate her next move. She looks down at herself then back up at the others and realizes they've all put on some clothes to ward off the slightly cool breeze that's blowing.

Beca quickly turns away from the back door and runs toward the bedroom that's housing her backpack.

She ducks in and all but lunges at her bag, tearing into it and pulling out her hoodie. She's surprised when she finds her earlier clothes neatly folded and placed inside her bag, having not remembered herself doing it.

"Chloe grabbed the clothes you two were wearing and brought them in with her," Fat Amy says, startling Beca so much the brunette jumps.

"She did?" Beca asks, although she doesn't need to, because of course Chloe would do that. She's a sweetheart.

Fat Amy nods, "Yup." Popping the 'p' at the end of the word.

She then points at something besides Beca, "Is that for Chloe?"

Beca's head snaps down towards whatever it is that Fat Amy is pointing to and she curses under her breath, "Shit."

Her gift for Chloe must have fallen out when Beca had pulled out her hoodie.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Fat Amy says, a decidedly smug grin on her face, "I knew you wouldn’t have not gotten her anything. There was a bit of doubt when there wasn't anything from you in the gift pile."

Beca isn't really listening though because she's trying to remember where she had placed the gift in her backpack.

'Was it under the hoodie, or was it on top of it? Did Chloe just fold her clothes and lay them on top of the gift bag? Did she see it? No…no I'm sure it was underneath all of that,' Beca's frowning deeply as she tries to remember; wondering if Chloe's aware of the gift or not.

Fat Amy realizes that Beca isn’t really with her in the moment, and she ends up just shaking her head and snapping her finger in front of her face, "Earth to Beca, come in Beca. You might want to get dressed yeah? The house is a bit drafty…"

She looks down pointedly and Beca nearly rips off her arms with the sheer velocity she propels them towards her chest to cover herself up, "Thanks. I'm gonna put some clothes on now."

Fat Amy laughs as she nods, "Good idea. And then you can help me bring out the cake for lil' Red."

Beca nods her acknowledgement, "Sure, yeah I'll do that."

"Oh and Beca?" Fat Amy calls, just as she's walking out the door.

Beca hums, raising an eyebrow and waiting for the blonde to continue, "You honestly need to pull this off yourself, or else we're gonna be taking things into our own hands…and I don’t think either of you want that to happen."

Fat Amy leaves right after delivering that and Beca doesn't even want to know.

Beca sighs as she picks up the gift and puts it back into her backpack, careful not to ruin the bag.

She then grabs her hoodie and slips it on, before grabbing her jeans and slipping them on as well.

Sighing resolutely, she grabs a hair tie and pulls her hair into a loose ponytail, if only just to keep it out of her face.

After she's ready, she tilts her head side to side and loosens herself up before determinedly walking out of the room, and towards the kitchen.

She ignores the backdoor, knowing if she looks out, Chloe will be there with her Disney princess eyes, watching her and making her feel special, and she really needs to focus on not spazzing out and making a mess of things.

Beca goes straight for the fridge and opens it to find a pretty big box with the words 'Chloe's bitchin' cake' scrawled over the top, causing her to laugh.

She carefully takes the box out of the fridge and places it on the counter, delicately lifting the lid and revealing a yellow fondant cup as the decorative piece on the cake, the words 'Chloe' on the side of it.

Beca is grinning as she takes in the musical notes surrounding the remainder of the cake, and the icing spelling out, 'happy birthday aca-sweetheart.' She carefully takes it out of the box and then pulls out the candles and the sparklers she finds in a little plastic bag beside the fridge.

She sticks the sparklers onto the top of the yellow cup, a smile on her face as she's doing so, and just as she's sticking the candles around the base of the cake, Fat Amy walks in, "Oh good, you've found the goodies. Do you know where Aubrey keeps the matches?"

Beca shakes her head, "No…but knowing Aubrey? It would probably be in a drawer near the oven."

Fat Amy walks over towards said drawers and lets out a triumphant "Ha!" when she successfully finds the matches on the first try.

"Alright, move over tiny one, I'm gonna light this up like the fourth of July, and then we're gonna have to get this out the door, and I don’t know if I trust you to be able to _not_ trip when you see Chloe's eyes lit up with these sparklers, so I'm gonna do that too."

Beca rolls her eyes but she's not about to argue with Fat Amy because the chances of her tripping are extremely high.

"Fine, I'll just walk ahead of you and distract her by sitting beside her and then you'll have a few extra seconds to get out and have the cake set up on the table in front of her."

Fat Amy grins and taps the side of her nose, "Atta girl, you're catching on. Alright, let's do this."

Beca watches as Fat Amy lights up the candles first and then the sparklers, quickly lifting the cake after everything is lit, and Beca is out the door before Fat Amy even has to blink.

Chloe's eyes meet Beca's immediately and the brunette is filled with a sense of warmth and familiarity because Chloe smiles at her and she's all but gliding over to sit beside her, "Comfy?" Chloe questions quietly, as soon as she's sitting snuggly beside her.

And Beca nods, a large smile on her face, giddy with excitement for Chloe, and it's as if Chloe can sense it because she starts grinning even wider and she giggles and just as Chloe is about to ask what has her so excited, the girls all start to melodiously sing to her.

" _Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Chlo-e! Happy birthday to you!"_

Chloe's head whips around so fast, Beca's slightly worried about her getting whiplash.

Beca's breath is stolen from her the moment Chloe's eyes catch sight of her cake, and takes in the fact that all of the girls are singing for her.

Fat Amy was right not to trust her with bringing out the cake honestly.

Beca almost forgets to use her voice to sing for Chloe, but she does and when Chloe hears her, she's turning her head to face her and the smile on her face is spectacular, and the tears welling in Chloe's eyes make Beca smile at her adoringly, and reach out to hold her hand.

Chloe laughs lightly, sniffing back her happy tears, squeezing Beca's hand in hers and turning back to face the rest of the Bellas, sending smiles towards all of them, speechless in a way she hasn't been in a long time.

"You guys! This is so great! I love it! You didn't have to do all of this!" Chloe gushes once they've finished singing to her, and she's brushing the tears off of her cheeks with one hand, refusing to let go of Beca's hand to do so.

Stacie scoffs and grins as she says, "Oh dude, you haven’t seen anything yet. And we're really glad we got to surprise you with this at least."

Cynthia Rose nods, "Yeah, I mean, we knew you'd figure out this get together was for you, but the cake was a nice twist…since we're on the subject, you wanna blow out the candles?" She grins as she points to the candles, the sparklers having died down a few seconds prior.

Chloe giggles and leans forward, effectively pulling Beca to lean forward with her since she's still holding onto her hand.

She puffs out her cheeks adorably and Beca has to stop herself from leaning forward further and either pinching her cheeks or kissing them.

"Happy birthday Chlo," she whispers instead, the second she blows out all the candles, amidst all the cheers from the Bellas.

Chloe turns and meets her eyes, and smiles at her mouthing, 'thank you,' before squeezing her hand and then letting go.

Beca watches with a love struck smile on her face as Chloe makes her way around the Bellas, wrapping her arms around each and every one of them, thanking them personally and wholeheartedly.

"She's something else, isn't she?" Stacie asks, slipping into the seat Chloe had been occupying beside Beca.

The tiny brunette hums, nodding her head as she does so, "That isn't even the half of it," she breathes out listlessly, before her mind catches up to what her mouth just let out.

Stacie isn't even batting an eyelash, eyes staring straight ahead, rather than on her, "I believe you."

Beca clears her throat awkwardly, clearly waiting for the shoe to drop, but Stacie just sits there silently, swinging her legs back and forth, just enjoying the energy that's surrounding all of them.

Beca tilts her head and relaxes her shoulders, that she didn’t even realize were tensed, and succumbs to the good vibes too, happily watching Chloe continue the hug fest, until she gets to Fat Amy, who goes in for a bear hug and lifts her up causing Chloe to squeal in laughter.

"I really love you girls," Stacie finally says, rather matter-of-factly, turning to look at Beca after saying so, a small smile on her face, "You're like the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Beca isn't usually cut out for this. If anything, Chloe would be the best one for these kinds of talks, while Beca would be in the background for the aftermath of the heart to hearts, available with a beer and a good pat on the back.

"I know what you mean," Beca finds herself saying, nodding silently before continuing, "I don’t think I can picture what my life would be like without you bunch of nerds in it."

Stacie smiles at her brilliantly and then says, too seriously for the look on her face, "That's great…and so, I guess what I'm trying to say is…sometimes you gotta adopt some tough love with the ones you love, you know?"

Beca's brow furrows, taken aback slightly by the change of tone their conversation is taking.

Stacie continues, the look on her face still angelic, "Chloe and you need to have a heart to heart, before we adopt tough lovin' the both of you…it may or may not include tight, enclosed spaces."

She hops up almost immediately after saying this, pecking the approaching Chloe on the cheek before making her way towards her seat beside Aubrey with a large, proud looking smile on her face.

Beca sits there staring after her, not quite certain what the hell is going on with the girls today.

Chloe nudges her gently as she sits beside her, a smile on her face, "Everything okay?"

Beca nods her head hurriedly, smile quickly lighting up her face, "You know it!"

Chloe giggles, before facing the cake and everyone else, "I don’t know what made you guys think of it, but I really love the yellow cup that’s on my cake. It's perfect!"

Beca sighs contentedly, leaning back against the deck couch, stretching out her arm across the back of it, effectively having her arm basically wrapped around Chloe's shoulders.

Xoxoxo

After the cake, and then dinner, they find themselves back in the pool, after Aubrey turns on the heating, allowing them all to just kind of float around and chill.

At around the nine pm mark, they all kind of collectively agree to take it inside, deciding it's time to shower the redhead with her gifts.

Beca is a ball of nerves after changing back into her comfortable hoodie and sweat pants, and she's holding onto the little gift bag in her hands, fumbling with it before scoffing and stuffing it into her bag.

She doesn't want all the attention on her when Chloe opens up the gift only to find a lousy USB stick instead of something cool.

She shuffles her way into the living room, and curls up into a ball in the corner of one of the couches. She's the first one dressed and ready for this part of the evening, but she's soon joined by Ashley and Denise. Stacie quickly joining them with Aubrey right behind her.

Pretty soon, the living room is filled with all of them except for Chloe and Fat Amy. The latter having taken it upon herself to keep her occupied until everyone was ready for her. Which gives them all the opportunity to pool out the gifts and pile them up nice and neatly in front of Chloe's designated seat.

It's one of the single seater sofas. And it's been dragged so that it's in optimal position, for everyone's viewing pleasure.

Beca snorts just thinking that, but she nearly chokes because Fat Amy chooses that exact moment to bring Chloe out.

She looks fabulous.

It becomes apparent to Beca that Fat Amy basically kept her busy by doing up her hair.

It's up in an intricate looking front twist updo, and she looks, "Amazing."

Beca wants to clamp a hand over her own mouth, because she said that out loud and without a single prompt, and she feels herself blushing profusely and she wants the couch to just swallow her up whole, because everyone is looking at her.

Chloe, who's also blushing at the compliment, bites her lip as she looks at her through her lashes, giving her what Aubrey calls Chloe's 'bedroom eyes', "Thank you."

Beca nods her head, and then effectively buries her face in her hands, the second Chloe looks away, mumbling an, "Oh my God," for good measure.

Xoxoxox

When Chloe is nearing the halfway mark with the presents, Beca suddenly realizes that she doesn’t want Chloe thinking she's forgotten her.

She doesn't want the redhead to think, for even a split second, that Beca didn’t care about her enough to get her something for her birthday.

Beca suddenly stands up, determined not to talk herself out of it this time, and quickly goes to the bedroom and pulls out the present.

She then slyly drops it onto the pile without Chloe noticing, before gliding back over towards her seat on the couch, now her nerves tripling, in effect, leaving her on edge.

Aubrey catches her eyes and she gives Beca an approving grin, almost as if she's proud of her and Beca can't lie and say that it didn't make her feel good.

xoxoxox

And of course, Chloe doesn’t get to her present until the very end.

But the minute Beca is aware that hers is the last present, she's holding her breath.

Chloe's eyes find hers and she tilts her head in question, and Beca just smiles at her nervously, "Well open it up Chlo; I'm not gonna spoil it for you, not now that you're so close to finding out what it is."

And she sounds much more confident than she feels, which Beca is glad for really.

Chloe giggles as she unties the ribbon and she tilts the bag onto its side and out slides the little piece of plastic.

And Beca can't begin to describe the feeling she gets when she sees it sitting there in the palm of Chloe's hand.

But she's suddenly speaking, "I'm not very good with words. If anyone can testify to that it's you, especially after the past couple of weeks."

Beca watches as Chloe's eyes lift up to meet hers, and Beca nods her head before continuing, "with music though…I know I'm much better at expressing myself through music. So I mean, this," she points to the memory stick that Chloe's now holding reverently, "this is my way of telling you all of the things I've been wanting to tell you for a while now."

Her initial bravado is all but gone now, and she ends up trailing off awkwardly, "so I mean yeah…happy birthday? Even though, technically it's in like two days and…but that doesn’t mean you can't listen to it now or well not _now_ now, but like, before your birthday…okay I'm gonna shut up now."

Chloe lifts it up to her heart as she keeps her eyes locked with Beca's as she sincerely says, "Thank you. _So_ much Becs."

The brunette just kind of shrugs, trying to play off the moment, if only to try and get her heart to slow down and start beating at a normal speed.

She feels as if a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders now that Chloe has possession of the USB, and Beca can't help but feel pretty proud of herself for finally giving it to Chloe.

Catching Aubrey's eyes once again shows Beca that Aubrey is rather proud of her for being able to do that as well. She grins to herself as she settles back against the couch, less restless than she was earlier.

'Now you wait,' Beca thinks to herself, and the second she does, her face goes blank as she's hit with the realization that she's going to have to wait for Chloe to go through all of the songs.

Xoxoxoxo

Their day comes to an end at around half past one in the morning, and Aubrey rolls her eyes when some of the girls try and convince her it's okay for them to walk back to their dorm rooms now.

Aubrey ends up telling them that the house is massive and that they're more than able to share or spread out.

Beca happily agrees to taking one of the bedrooms with Stacie, glad that the decision was made with the draw from a hat, to eliminate any arguments.

Chloe manages to corner her in the bathroom after she finishes up brushing her teeth.

"I just, I wanted to thank you properly. I know how vulnerable this is making you and I need you to know that I understand and…you're safe with me." Chloe says seriously, eyes boring into Beca's conveying just how much she means what she's saying.

Beca swallows, because Chloe has once again hit the nail on the head, "I know I am Chlo…and you're welcome. Come find me when you've listened to it alright? And take your time, there's no rush."

Beca is surprised when she says this because she really means it. She wants Chloe to take her time, and she wants her to really understand what she's trying to say and she just hopes against all hope that she'll return her feelings.

If she doesn’t return her feelings, Beca hopes that Chloe understands that she'll still want her to be her friend, because Beca honestly can't think of who she would be if not for Chloe's influence.

Chloe smiles at her, a little watery affectionate smile, and she wraps her arms around Beca's neck, burying her head against the crook of her neck, whispering another, "Thank you," before following it up with, "good night," before pulling back and placing a delicate kiss to her cheek, just barely touching the corner of her mouth.

Beca stands there, at the doorway of the bathroom, dazed, long after Chloe has left.

Lily is the one that bumps into her and gets her functioning again, "Sorry Lily…uh the bathroom is all yours."

Beca shuffles away quickly and slips into the bedroom she's sharing with Stacie and crawls into bed, sighing contentedly when her head hits the pillow.

A few minutes later, Stacie glides into the room and gently slips into the other side of the large bed and whispers, "You did great Beca…good night."

Beca has a small smile on her face at that, as she whispers back, "good night," and a second later she rolls her eyes at herself for being such a sap.

Xoxoxox

 "Beca… _Beca_."

Beca scrunches her nose up, not wanting to wake up at all right now. It feels like she only just went to sleep.

She thinks maybe it was just a dream though when the voice stops and she's about to drift off again when she feels a warm hand against her cheek and Chloe's voice whispering her name again, "Beca…"

Her eyes flutter open and she's met with bright blue eyes inches away from her face and she would have probably jumped had she not been semi awake. As it is, she simply furrows her brow in her half asleep state, "Chlo? What-what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Beca shifts so she's kind of sitting up, the sleepiness quickly fading when she properly takes in the look on Chloe's face.

"You've been crying," Beca whispers, her heart falling out of the bottom of her rib cage.

Chloe shakes her head, but says nothing, not wanting to wake Stacie up. Instead she reaches out for Beca's hand and silently asks her to follow her.

Beca doesn't even hesitate for a second.

She places her hand in Chloe's and slips out of bed, following Chloe as she walks them back out into the now empty living room.

Beca shuffles her weight from one foot to the other, as she waits for Chloe to let her know what she wants to do.

The redhead climbs onto the couch and sits cross-legged, grabbing the throw from off the back of the couch and throwing half of it over her back and silently offering Beca the other half, holding it up for her to climb under.

Beca silently sits beside Chloe and helps her drape the throw across her back, effectively putting them into a cocoon of warmth. She's beyond nervous because she has no idea what's going through Chloe's mind and that alone is enough to set her on edge.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" Beca asks quietly, after a few minutes of silence.

And Chloe bites her lip before she finally meets Beca's eyes properly.

"I listened to the songs…your gift. I listened to it all," Chloe whispers, her eyes darting back and forth between Beca's, getting teary again.

And Beca can't help that her heart feels like it's starting to rip apart.

She never meant to make Chloe cry.

So she goes to apologize, "Chlo-I'm so sor-"

Chloe covers her mouth up with her hand. Eyes wide as she shakes her head, "No Becs, no I don’t need you to apologize. That's the very last thing I want you to do."

Beca furrows her brow and Chloe lets out a tearful giggle, sliding her hand away from covering Beca's mouth and instead cradles Beca's face delicately, "I'm not sad. That's not what the tears are for. I'm just-I'm so happy that I don’t know what else to do with myself…you're so sweet. _So_ sweet, and I can't believe how amazing each and every one of those tracks are."

She pauses and Beca feels like she can breathe again, and her heart starts to hammer in her chest.

Chloe's thumb caresses Beca's cheek absentmindedly, her eyes taking in every little detail of Beca's face as she says, "I want to properly articulate just how happy I am, and how much I'm _feeling_ right now, but the only thing going through my mind right now," she takes a breath and finishes in a light laugh, "is song lyrics."

And Beca lets out her own breathless laugh at that and she's a little bit surprised by the fact that her own eyes are kind of tearing up too as she whispers, "I'm not going to judge. I basically put my heart out on the line, _exclusively_ using lyrics and music."

Chloe hiccups a little laugh, going to wipe away the tear that trails down her cheek but Beca beats her to it. Beca wipes away the tear and then rests her hand against Chloe's neck and cheek, waiting for Chloe to decide on what her next move is going to be.

The redhead takes in a nervous breath and then she expels it nearly immediately, "This is the hardest thing I've ever done," she says breathlessly, a nervous chuckle at the edge of her words.

And Beca smiles at her reassuringly, and Chloe could live in that smile.

Chloe shuts her eyes for a second to center herself, and when she opens them, Beca can see the fire renewed behind her eyes.

" _I'll take this chance, so call me blind. I've been waiting all my life. Please don’t scar this young heart, just take my hand. I was made for loving you, even though we may be hopeless hearts just passing through, every bone screaming I don’t know what we should do, all I know is, darling, I was made for loving you._ "

Beca's heart is hammering in her chest, partially because Chloe's voice just really does things to her, and partially because, 'holy shit, I think she's saying-'

"I…I really like you Beca," Chloe whispers, her face just a little bit closer to Beca's, desperately trying to make Beca understand, "And-I would love nothing more than to kiss you right now…please?"

Beca's whole body feels like it's on fire hearing Chloe say that, with her huskier tone, and she's not sure just how she manages to get control over her motor skills, but the hand that's holding Chloe's cheek guides her the rest of the barely-there distance between them, until their lips finally meet for the first time.

Nothing compares to the feeling of finally kissing the one person you've been wanting to kiss for the longest time. And nothing prepares Beca for the feeling of intense joy and overwhelming love she feels pouring out of Chloe and into Beca.

"I've been waiting _so_ long to do that," Chloe whispers against Beca's lips.

And Beca laughs lightly and presses their lips together again, giddy with the knowledge that Chloe wants to kiss her, mumbling against her lips in return, "Probably not even nearly as long as I've been waiting."

Chloe chuckles as she pulls Beca in for another kiss, and she can't help that she's smiling against Beca's lips through the kisses, her joy obviously reflected in Beca who can't help smiling either.

Chloe pulls back after what feels like both an eternity and a few seconds, just enough to look into Beca's eyes, and she ends up losing her train of thought when Beca presses a kiss to the redhead's nose on impulse.

It takes another few minutes before Chloe pulls back from kissing her again, just enough to speak to say, "Not to sound like a responsible adult…" she whispers, earning herself an adorable smile, "but I think we should get some sleep. I don’t want to be the reason you're cranky tomorrow morning."

Beca shakes her head languidly, "I don’t think I'm going to have a cranky morning for a _long_ time coming Chlo. Not with you around."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) The tracks that Beca has on the USB are available on 8tracks as a complete playlist in case you were wondering.  
> 2) The song Chloe sings is 'I Was Made For Loving You' by Tori Kelly ft. Ed Sheeran, and I really recommend that you listen to it because it's a beautiful song x


	5. Heartbeats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

"Good morning." A voice sing songs cheerfully.

Beca scrunches up her face and grumbles, attempting to push whoever is speaking away from her.

She hears giggling, but it's not Chloe's giggles, so Beca decides she's just going to continue shutting her eyes and feigning sleep.

"That's definitely no way to greet your bedmates in the morning Beca. It's downright rude really." Stacie says, a smile on her face as she teases the tiny DJ.

Beca's eyes fly open at that, "What."

Stacie's laying on her side, propping her head up, facing Beca, her eyes playful as she asks, "What else do you call someone who you're sharing a bed with?"

Beca groans and shuts her eyes, "It is _so_ not the time to be having this conversation."

Humming, Stacie rolls over onto her stomach, still watching Beca, "Does it have anything to do with how late you came to bed last night?"

Beca opens one eye and sees Stacie looking at her with a rather smug look on her face. She clears her throat and replies steadily, "You were asleep."

Stacie shrugs easily, a soft smile appearing on her face as she explains, "I'm a really light sleeper. Was Chloe alright?" Her concern shows when she asks this, eyes searching Beca's.

Beca's heart flips around in her chest at that, but she nods, "Yeah Stace…Chloe was alright."

Stacie grins then as she sits up excitedly, "Okay so??"

Beca furrows her brow, "So…what?"

Sighing, Stacie leans forward and pokes her forehead, "What happened when you left with Chloe?"

Beca's face colors brightly. She can feel the heat emitting off of her cheeks, "We talked. That's all. Oh! Will you look at the time!"

Beca rolls out of bed, throwing the blankets off of herself and nearly tripping over her own two feet on her way out of the room, leaving behind a highly amused Stacie.

Beca runs down the hall to the bathroom and shuts herself in there for a while, splashing water on her face and taking care of business before taking a deep breath and then walking out to face the music.

The music that includes seeing Chloe.

And the love struck smile makes an appearance once again, and Beca couldn't care less if someone would take a picture and blow it up and stick it to the side of buses and buildings.

Chloe Beale kissed her last night.

'Hell. Forget that! _Chloe_ _likes you back you dumbass_ ,' she thinks to herself just as she steps into the kitchen and sees the person on her mind.

Chloe has her head down, watching over the pan that's on the stove top, her hair up in a messy bun, and adorably comfortable looking pajamas on, with bunny slippers on her feet. Beca doesn't think she's ever seen someone look more attractive to her than Chloe does right at this moment.

"Good morning," Beca says gently as she walks just a little bit closer, her eyes taking in the way Chloe's shoulders tense as she turns around, the excitement evident in the way her muscles contract, as if ready to leap into action at the drop of a hat.

Beca's smiling at her, scuffing her foot against the ground back and forth nervously, watching as Chloe's eyes dart around her face, before focusing on Beca's eyes and breaking out with one of the most stunning smiles Beca has ever seen on Chloe's face.

"Good morning," Chloe returns wistfully, her body relaxing immediately after taking in Beca's very real presence.

Biting her lip, Beca walks closer until she's standing right in front of the redhead, and tilts her head awkwardly and bounces her fists against her thighs as she looks Chloe in the eyes and asks, "Is it-I mean…may I hug you?"

And Chloe's eyes widen slightly and she nods her head enthusiastically, curls bouncing as she does so, opening her arms to allow Beca to walk into her embrace.

Beca's heart flutters wildly as she steps into Chloe's arms, wrapping her own around the redhead's waist and tucking her face into the crook of Chloe's neck, nuzzling into her happily as she feels Chloe tighten her grip on her body.

"Not to break up the love-fest, cuz I'm so down for this happening, but uh don’t burn the pancakes Red."

Fat Amy's voice sounds as she shuffles into the kitchen, taking a seat on the bar stool at the island and smirking at the two women still embracing.

Beca huffs but pulls away at that, and she can't help herself that when she sees Chloe's face she ends up kissing her cheek, after which she smoothly steps away and takes a seat beside Fat Amy.

Chloe smiles so widely, and she's certain she's going to feel her muscles start complaining soon, because she has a feeling she's going to be smiling a whole lot more now; Chloe bites her lip as she turns back towards the pancake in the pan, catching it just in time before it starts to get just a tad bit overdone, and flips it over swiftly.

Fat Amy raises an eyebrow, looking from Chloe, to Beca then back to Chloe before she smirks and slams her hand down onto the counter top suddenly, causing both girls to jump as she calls out, "AHA! You two did the do! The horizontal tango! The ol' bump and grind! You-"

Beca calls out, quickly and loudly, eyes wide, stopping Fat Amy from continuing, "Oh my God! Dude! No! What the fuck?"

Chloe, who was just as taken aback by Fat Amy's burst, now looks a little affronted by Beca's adamant denial, "You don’t want to get to that with me?"

Beca blanches, now turning to face the redhead with a dropped jaw, "What? No! That's _not_ what I said Chlo."

Chloe pouts, turns back to the pancake and lifts it out and onto a plate before she turns back around to face Beca and shrugs before loosely folding her arms in front of her as she quietly confesses, "It sounded like that's what you were saying though."

Fat Amy watches curiously as Beca shakes her head and gets up to shuffle back over towards Chloe, "No, seriously, that's not what I was trying to say at all." Her cheeks are aflame, but Beca also knows that Chloe isn't kidding about feeling like Beca isn't into her like that, and so she powers through the awkward and reassures the redhead as best as she can, "I mean, we've only just… _you_ know, ya know? And I'm not…I'm not there yet and…but like, I _want_ to be at some point. It's not a 'never gonna happen' thing Chloe. I was just…" Beca trails off as she desperately tries to explain herself to the woman in front of her.

Chloe nods her head and wraps her arms around her neck tightly, "I know, I'm sorry…I keep thinking this is some cruel joke, and that you're going to pull away any second now and tell me this was all just some elaborate plan to give me a pity kiss on my birthday…"

Cynthia Rose balks, hearing Chloe say that as she walks into the kitchen, "Kiss on whose birthday?!"

Jessica and Ashley look at each other then nod in unison before tapping Cynthia Rose's shoulders and holding out their hands, eyebrows raised with smiles lighting up their faces.

"Aw man, now come on girls, can't we have breakfast first and figure out the details before I just go around handing over my pop tarts?" Cynthia Rose asks.

She grins once she gets nods in understanding, quickly taking a seat beside Fat Amy, as Chloe and Beca try and keep whatever is going on between them at the moment as lowkey as possible.

And failing.

"So, since I'm gonna be handing over both of my boxes of S'mores Pop Tarts, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you two have finally talked things over?" Cynthia Rose asks, peering at the two in question over her steepled hands.

Beca's ears are nearly glowing with how red they are, and Chloe's cheeks color further at Cynthia Rose's inquiry.

Thankfully, Aubrey walks in with the rest of the girls in tow and manages to shift the attention away from them.

Aubrey takes over making breakfast, squeezing Chloe's upper arm in thanks as she takes her place in front of the stove, allowing the redhead to  slip away towards the dining table, pulling Beca along with her.

The second Chloe slips her hand into Beca's, the brunette is all smiles, not even trying to hide just how ecstatic she is to be holding Chloe's hand. She squeezes gently just as they sit down at the table and Chloe returns the gesture, throwing in an adorable wink as well.

Talk momentarily turns away from the both of them, since the rest of the Bellas decide they would like different toppings on their pancakes, and the kitchen is filled with various voices calling out their preferred fruit.

This of course allows Beca and Chloe to have a little reprieve, which sees them both bending their heads in towards each other and just sharing shy glances and smiles, whispering back and forth adorably trying to figure out between themselves who should answer any questions, and whether or not they should even say anything yet.

Their moment is disrupted once everyone has gotten their pancakes and have gathered around the rest of the chairs at the dining table and sitting up at the island on the stools.

"Alright, out with it…literally." Fat Amy says, lifting a forkful of pancake and strawberry drizzle, holding it out towards them slightly.

Chloe goes to speak up, but Beca clears her throat and squeezes Chloe's hand, telling her silently that she's got this.

"We-Chloe and I, that is-have talked last night and-" Beca's interrupted by Fat Amy coughing exaggeratedly and wiggling her eyebrows at her suggestively. Beca does her best to ignore the blonde and continue, even though her cheeks are flushed beyond reason now, "a-and this is new, like literally it's something that's just happened…and I just am really glad that I can hold her hand without worrying about any of you guys wondering why I'm holding her hand long after any of you guys would have let go, if you were in my place. I mean-" Beca blinks, wide eyed, having not meant to say as much as she just did.

Beca can see Chloe, out of the corner of her eye, looking at her like she's hung the stars in the sky, and it's making her heart do funny things.

Beca glances her way fully and Chloe bites her lip before stepping in still looking Beca in the eyes as she says, "Beca and I- we _really_ like each other," she smiles at her adoringly before turning to look at the rest of the Bellas, smiling slightly as she says, "and we want nothing more than to be able to be ourselves around you guys; we know you'll love us no matter what, and I guess what we want to say is…Even though Beca and I still have more talking to do…we've gotten it out that we both feel _very_ deeply about each other," Chloe's eyes return to Beca's, and the brunette is hanging onto every single word Chloe is saying.

"And we want to see where _we_ can go…So I mean this," Chloe lifts their intertwined hands a little bit and waves it around slightly, causing a great big grin to overtake Beca's face, "this is _so_ real…and feels almost like a dream, I can hardly believe it." Chloe gushes, a watery smile forming, giggling at her own silliness, having just told Beca she didn’t want to cry.

Stacie claps her hands excitedly and squeals before she grabs onto Aubrey's free hand and waves it around, "Aubrey! Aubrey, see?! I told you they could handle it on their own! We didn't need to lock them in your room!"

Beca watches amusedly as Aubrey just smiles at the seated brunette, nodding her head as Aubrey says with an affectionate lilt in her tone, "Yeah, I guess you were right. Again."

Beca catches Chloe's eyes and they share a small smile as they get words of congratulations from the Bellas, their hearts feeling about three times as full. They also surprisingly get to enjoy the rest of breakfast in relative peace, without any teasing or heckling from the girls.

Until Lily whispers, "So, just how far did you two get last night?"

Which of course causes both Chloe as well as Beca's cheeks to color as they stutter out incomprehensible explanations much to the sheer delight of Lily, who smiles deviously from her perch on the bar stool, as well as the rest of the women who can't help but smile at the two dorks who are so obviously already very much in love.


End file.
